Cats Hate Burrs
by lafoodoo
Summary: Amu wakes up one morning to suddenly find Ikuto, sleeping in her room. But why is the perverted, mischievous cat-boy suddenly so grumpy on this fine day? First Shugo Chara fanfic, an Amuto oneshot


So here's my first fanfic! I don't think it's very good, but I thought about it and it popped into my head.

Thanks for reading! ;]

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It was a beautiful Tuesday morning, and golden sunlight peered over the horizon, lighting the sleepy city. Birds began their early morning songs, lighting the air with music. It was a new day for everyone, a happy wondrous beginning of life.

Anyone would be happy, right?

No.

Amu swore that if she could throw one thing from her room out of the window, where it would die a horrible death, it would be her alarm clock.

She slowly lifted her bed-ruffled hair from her ever-so-comfortable pillow, her eyes narrowed with sleep-drunkenness as she glared at the screaming alarm clock beside her. Raising one fist over the air, she sent it down in a deadly god-smack upon the cursed item.

"Damn it," she muttered, when she saw it only stopped the wretched beeping sound rather than breaking it apart. Peering at the time, she managed to make out the numbers. 7:00.

Ever so reluctantly, Amu crawled out of bed with an audible sigh. Her Shugo Charas were still asleep in their eggs, so Ran wasn't able to serve as her alarm clock that morning. Grumbling to herself with her ears still ringing from the clock, she stretched her arms, moaning as tense muscles were pulled.

"I guess I have to get ready," she mumbled to herself. It was at that moment that Amu noticed something quite strange.

_Wait . . . it's the middle of spring . . . and it should be warm, right? So why do I feel . . . chilly? _She whirled around and nearly dropped her jaws at the sight. Her balcony was wide open, a cool draft breezing into her room and tingling her skin.

"W-what the?!" she exclaimed. "Who . . . I . . . I CLOSED IT LAST NIGHT!"

_Who did this?! Ran, Miki, Su?! Wait, but they're too tiny . . ._ She was definitely sure that she had locked and sealed the balcony, to prevent any burglars or perverts or animals or . . . perverted cat-boys. Scowling, but feeling quite frightened, Amu looked around her room. _Is the culprit still here . . .?_

Slowly, she edged her way around her bed, cautiously moving towards her balcony to close it. She was about a few steps away when she suddenly felt her foot becoming elevated, and an unusual softness under it.

_Oh . . . crap, _she thought. Willing herself, she looked down.

"AAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHH!"

Lying in a curled up cat position on the floor was a huddled mass of black. As Amu scrambled back in terror, she made out a mop of midnight blue hair, sticking out from the black. A handsome face, with eyelashes drawing over closed eyes, was snuggled deep into the crook of an arm. She crawled up to the top of her bed, staring at the figure on the floor.

It took a while for the fear to go away before she recognized just what said mass of black was.

"I-IKUTO?!" she screamed.

As if she had spoken an awakening spell, the cat boy slowly opened his eyes, revealing mesmerizing sapphire orbs. Well, half of them. His tired, half-lidded eyes slowly traveled to the shocked girl on the bed.

"What?" he muttered, his voice muffled by his arm.

Amu nearly dropped flat on the ground. He had opened her _locked _balcony door, curled up on the floor, slept there _without her permission_, and all he could say was "What?"?! "Why the hell are you in my room?" she hissed, chiding herself to lower her voice since her family members were still in the house.

". . . I was tired." He shut his eyes and dug his face even deeper into his clothing. "Now go away."

She gawped. _Go . . . away?! _"In case you've forgotten, this is _my _room," she spat. "Now get out!"

". . . No."

His childish behavior made her twitch in aggravation. What made her even more irritated was the cranky tone in his voice, as if _she _had just gone and slept in his room and scared his wits. "Ikuto, I'm telling you to go."

"And I said no. Leave me be."

Amu took note of his rather unhappy, crabby behavior. Usually, the teenager would've teased her, laughed, smirked, and strut about in a cocky manner. But the curled-up, sleepy boy on the floor said otherwise. If Amu had to compare him to an animal, she would say he was like an annoyed house cat that had just woken up by a slap to the face.

"And why are you so cranky this fine morning?" she huffed.

"Why would it concern you?" he shot back.

"Because, Mr. I-Can-Sleep-in-a-12-year-old-girl's-room-and-be-moody, you're not acting normal." She wrinkled her nose thoughtfully. "Did you get hit by rain or something?"

Ikuto only growled irritably in response.

"What's wrong with you?" Now Amu was getting frustrated. The pervert was acting like a complete child. And he called himself a senior in high school!

"Just leave me alone, will you?" he snapped, jolting his eyes open to give her an angry glare.

She fumed. "Not until you tell me why you're being all aggravated! Gosh, it's like you got pins in your butt or something."

"I don't have pins in my butt," he hissed. "Can't you let me stay here a bit, in _peace_?"

"Excuse me, but I have the right to kick you out anytime I want," she snapped, feeling the intense urge to smack Kitty-Boy right out the balcony. Despite her anger, she couldn't help but feel a mild bit of concern. She hadn't seen Ikuto so snappish in quite a while. It was rather . . . unlike him.

Ikuto continued to glare at her, his eyes dark. "You're such a kid," he grunted.

"I am NOT a kid!" she nearly shrieked. "And if anything else, _you're _the one acting like a complete, stubborn baby! You're mad at me for no reason!"

"I never said I was mad at you," he snapped, baring a portion of his teeth rather aggressively. "And I'm not a baby, Miss I-Have-Pink-Hair."

"What does my hair have to do with this?!" she yelled, suddenly feeling a bit self-conscious when he mentioned it. Well, she knew it was weird, but never did she find it . . . offensive.

Ikuto stared at her blearily, as if looking for the answer, before hissing back, "I don't know! It's just pink . . . it's annoying. You should dye it."

"I WON'T! Why don't you get rid of your stupid cat ears? They're even weirder than pink hair!"

His eyes narrowed further, still taut with sleepiness. "Why don't you—" Suddenly, he stopped himself, surprising Amu momentarily. He growled, lowly, and suddenly started pawing at his own head as if it were a toy.

"H-hey, what's wrong with you?" Amu muttered, still trying to keep the spicy tone in her voice.

The boy merely ignored her and ran his hands through his hair in an aggravated fashion. He ruffled it, scratched at it, tugged at it, even rolled his hands through it like a ball. Amu watched in utter fascination and bewilderment as the boy crazily messed up his own elegant hair in a series of strange motions.

"Um . . . Ikuto?" Now she felt a tinge of worry. It looked as if the boy was possessed. "Is there something in your hair?"

When the boy didn't respond, she slowly stepped off her bed and edged closer to him. As Amu moved to stand directly in front of him, he dropped his hands loosely, as if in defeat. His cerulean hair was in wild disarray, puffing out from his head in wild clumps. His expression of irritation became even more obvious and drawn. He looked like a cat dumped in water.

Amu stared at him, out of her stupor. She didn't know what she just saw, but it was a little disturbing to see the boy just spaz in such a manner. _There must be something in his hair, _she affirmed. _A bug? An itch? Dandruff? Cat lint? _Before she could help it, she found herself reaching out her hand and placing it on his rumpled head. At once, he tensed and glanced up at her sharply.

Amu ignored him and slowly slid onto her knees, sitting in front of him so that his head was level with her face. She eased her hands into his hair, running her fingers through the fine silky strands and straightening them out. Ikuto, startled, slowly began to relax as her fingers ran across his scalp, and he unconsciously let out a very quiet purr.

Unfortunately for him, Amu heard the near inaudible sound and blushed, but determinedly pressed on with her work.

She could feel nothing in the tresses of the teenager's hair as she smoothed them out. He had messed them up, but the damage was quite repairable. _There must be something in here to make Ikuto go crazy on it. I have to find it. _

After a while of silent smoothing and straightening and purring, Amu suddenly stopped. Or, more accurately, her finger stopped.

Something was restricting her little finger from moving any further through the ocean-colored hair, a twisted barrier that ensnared her digit from finishing its course from the center of Ikuto's head to the back. It felt like a knot of some sort, or a thicket.

Amu tried to push her finger down. She only succeeded in tugging Ikuto's head back and making him give out a yowl of pain, his purring subsided.

"Can you watch it, Amu?!" he snapped crossly, glaring at her with pain-filled eyes.

Amu glared back at him, before tugging again pointedly. He yelped once more.

"It's just a burr!" she exclaimed, somewhat in disbelief. "You were this cranky over a hair tangle?"

"Cats hate burrs," he grumbled. "I can't untangle it either."

Amu glanced thoughtfully at his hair for a moment, before standing up. "Wait." Ikuto watched curiously as she walked over to her vanity table and picked up a very cute, very pink brush. He winced as she walked back to him, holding the hair tool like a person would with a knife.

"Do you _have _to use that?" he muttered.

"Do you _want _to get rid of the burr?" she shot back, before setting the brush into his hair.

She moved it in a rhythmic pattern, sliding it across the eaves of his hair until she caught the burr, signaled by the sudden halt in the brush's movements and Ikuto's very noticeable flinch.

"Got you," she breathed to herself. Tugging the brush back, she sent it down once more until it reached the hair knot. Amu began gently moving the brush up and down in a quick pattern, going against the burr's barrier. Bouncing it along the hair, the brush began to loosen the tangled hair, forcefully breaking apart its bonds. Ikuto, however, felt it all. And it _hurt_.

But of course, Amu didn't notice. She determinedly went along with the process, slowly but surely trying to break through the insufferable burr that had made the cat boy go haywire.

And after about a minute, it was done. The brush jolted back down the rest of the way through the hair, nothing stopping its way. Amu combed through his hair once more, just in case, and was satisfied to see that the obstacle had been cleared.

"It's gone!" she said proudly.

Ikuto noticed the change at once, and cautiously moved his hand through his hair. He blinked. "It is . . ."

"See? Now can you stop being a grouchy little kitty?"

Ikuto slowly turned around to face her, and she inwardly flinched when she saw the usual predatory look in his eyes. The really handsome one. "Oh? So I was a kitten, was I?" he purred.

Then a smirk crossed his face. _Oh no, he's back to normal, _Amu moaned.

"W-whatever!" she snapped, already feeling her cheeks flare up. "You're annoying, and who gets so mad over a bit of tangled hair?!"

He shrugged. "Cats hate tangled hair. They hate it even more when they can't get rid of it." He suddenly flashed her a seductive expression. "So, you got rid of it so eagerly for me, Amu-chan."

Amu shuddered, half with rage, half with embarrassment. "J-JUST GET OUT OF HERE, PERVERTED CAT!" she yelled.

"Oh? But don't you want to play with me a bit more?" he cooed. "After all, I _was _being a grouch. Why don't I make it up to you?"

"GET OUT!!!!!!"

Ikuto chuckled and stood up to his full height. "Anything for Princess Amu." He strode over to the balcony. Once he reached the railing, he glanced back at the enraged pre-teen.

"By the way, I do intend to return the favor. You saved me."

"Right," she growled. "Now can you go?"

He smirked. "Oh, and you should check the clock."

Blinking and surprised by his sudden suggestion, Amu _did _look at her clock. She nearly wailed aloud in disbelief. 7:35. She had wasted over half an hour because of the stupid cat boy who was mad at a little hair tangle.

"IKUTO!!!!" She whirled around to confront the teenager, but there was nothing at the balcony. The damn cat had run away when he had the chance.

Amu stood up, now fully annoyed and angered. _First the stupid pervert had to ruin my morning, then he has to make me get to school in a manner of 25 minutes! _In a fit of frustration, she combed agitatedly through her hair, trying to make it up as quickly as possible before dressing into her uniform.

But suddenly, she felt her finger stop onto a crumpled mass. Amu froze, blinking in confusion. She tried to move her finger. It wouldn't.

". . . No way." Racing over to her mirror, she saw her own hand in the depths of her rosy hair. Daring herself, she grabbed a handful of her hair and moved it to the mirror, picking through it to see the culprit.

And then she saw it. A large, _very _large, clump of pink entwined in an ugly contortion. She stared at it in silence, letting it all sink in.

". . . A BURR?!?!?!"

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LOL and there you have it.

Hope you enjoyed, and may you all have hair knot-free days! 3

Oh and please review!


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